There are no related applications.
Major problems with most commercial exercising devices include the requirement that a person must devote their attention to the device during an extended portion of a day, that they require significant storage space in one""s quarters, that they are expensive to buy and maintain, that they are boring to use, or that they require attendance at a health oriented gymnasium, which is often inconvenient. Because of these problems, many people ignore their personal fitness and allow their physical conditioning to deteriorate, leaving them vulnerable to serious cardiovascular and other diseases.
Our invention is directed to these problems and a major objective of our invention is to provide an exercise device which is worn, possibly under one""s street clothing, for an extended period, and therefore requires substantially no distraction from one""s daily business.
Another object of our invention is to provide an inexpensive set of exercise apparatus.
Still another object of our invention is to provide exercise equipment which one can store in a very small space.
Yet another object of our invention is to provide a means of keeping fit which is an effective alternative to expensive health clubs.
In the practice of our invention one secures a cuff or strap to one""s extremity, usually their ankle and/or wrist. To the cuff there is securely attached a cord which is cooperative with a reel mechanism worn, most typically, on the waist or torso of the person. The reel mechanism may have means for adjusting the tension of the reel, such as interchangeable tensioning springs.
The person, if they choose to wear the device under clothing, finishes dressing and goes about the business of daily living. With each movement of the limb to which the cuff is attached, the cord is reeled in or out, producing a tension which retards the movement of that limb. The constant physical tension makes the person exert more effort than normal in the movement of the limb, thereby, with repetition strengthening and improving the wearer""s physical condition.
Our device may be employed for a single arm or leg or for both arms, both legs, or all of one""s limbs, depending upon the number of cuff-cord-reel combinations one desires to engage.
In a variant of our device we provide a mechanism for custodial control of prisoners in a variety of situations such as transportation, hearings or work details. In this variant, a prisoner has secured to him/her the cuff-cord-reel combination as if they were an ordinary exerciser, but the reel contains a ratchet or similar device which may be remotely engaged by a controlling authority, the ratcheted reel precludes the person from extending their limb any further than its most recent retraction. In the excitement of antisocial behavior on the part of the prisoner, the prisoner flexes his/her limbs in both retractions and attempted extensions resulting in the limbs being pulled toward the body in such a manner as to make the wearer substantially incapable of inflicting harm or running away. Alternatively, the reel may be under a motor or other similar device, control to pull the limb(s) toward the retractor, similarly disabling the prisoner. With the custodial control variant of our device, several useful objectives are achieved. One object of the control variant is to provide an effective custodial restraint which does not require an electrical shocking mechanism or physical impact such as with a baton.
Another object of the control variant is to provide an effective custodial restraint which, while not necessary for functionality, may be worn under clothing so as to avoid potential embarrassment to the person in custody and to preclude possible prejudice against the person when seen by jurors in a trial. Still another object of our invention is to provide a custodial control device which is effective but not as objectionable on humanitarian grounds.
Yet another objective of the control variant of our invention is to provide a potentially more error tolerant prisoner control apparatus than previous devices used for this purpose, such as the stun belt apparatus which we described in our U. S. Pat. No. 4,943,885.